Over 60,000 Flee Sudanese City After Takeover by Rapid Support Forces Militia, UN Reports
Per the UNHCR, over 60,000 civilians have fled the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia Rapid Support Forces over the weekend.
Accounts suggest mass executions and crimes against humanity as RSF fighters took control of the city following an year-and-a-half siege marked by food shortages and intense shelling.
The movement of those escaping the conflict towards the town of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the last several days, per United Nations refugee agency representative.
They were describing shocking stories of abuses, featuring sexual violence, and the organization was having trouble to locate sufficient housing and nourishment for them.
Every child was affected by malnutrition, she noted.
It is estimated that over 150,000 people are still unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last bastion in the western region of Darfur.
The RSF has rejected broad claims that the executions in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and follow a trend of the Arab paramilitaries targeting non-Arab communities.
Nevertheless the RSF has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with summary executions.
The organization released recordings depicting the militiaman's detention after confirmation that he was behind the execution of several non-combatants near el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has verified that it has suspended the channel associated with Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had managed the account in his identity.
Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 following a vicious struggle for power erupted between its army and the Rapid Support Forces.
This has led to a food crisis and claims of ethnic cleansing in the Darfur area.
In excess of 150,000 persons have been killed in the fighting throughout the country, and about 12 million have fled their dwellings in what the United Nations has described as the world's largest humanitarian crisis.
The seizure of el-Fasher reinforces the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of the western region and much of bordering Kordofan to the southern area, and the army holding the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.
The competing factions had been partners - gaining control together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an internationally backed initiative to move towards civilian leadership.
